Giving Her a Chance
by Dark Qiviut
Summary: Matt thought Friday night was going to be the worst night of his life. He thought June was going to ruin their date together. With some guidance, it turned out what he thought was wrong. Really wrong. [Junato for the Digimon Pairings Challenge]


_**Disclaimer:** Digimon is copyrighted by Akiyoshi Hongo and produced by Toei Animation and Bandai. Only the plot and fancharacters in this story belong to me, and no profit is made in any way through this story._

* * *

_**Author's Notes: **Other than being written for the Digimon Pairings Challenge, this fanfic also follows the old four-year timeline between Digimon Adventure 01 and Digimon Adventure 02, rather than the three-year plot later on that season._

_**Fanfiction Timeline:** This fanfic begins the day following the episode "Guardian Angel."_

* * *

**Giving Her a Chance**

Fifteen-year-old Matt Ishida was very cross.

How cross was the DigiDestined of the Crest of Friendship, you asked? Well, I would not be able to describe it straightforwardly, so allow me to use analogies for this. He was crosser than any mythical talking engine on some fantasy island within the United Kingdom isles. He was so cross, if he rocked and gritted his teeth, small pieces of his enamel-coated chewing things would crack off and fall to the floor like remnants of chips that were messily eaten. He was so cross, so steamed up, if an egg cracked onto his blond nest, the yolk would sizzle and be delivered to a stranger over easy.

Through stares and giggles from female schoolchildren and ear-to-ear grins from the opposite gender, he slunk into the entrance of the school and walked quickly down a school hallway. Silent grumbling and growling occurred during his – as he felt it – long walk there. Sometimes, he wished that a devil-fairy (whatever that was) would fall through the roof and magically transported all the annoyances far away from him so he could have peace and quiet for once. Then again, being a part of a band rising in celebrity status would do that to him, or perhaps anyone, depending on that man or woman's attitude during certain circumstances.

Then, while continuing his pace, he glanced up and noticed a black strip containing a white sign that had the section "5-2" above him. Realizing where he was, he stopped with a start, turned his head, and peered through the door window, where he noticed Davis and T.K. interestingly conversing together and showing pieces of drawn-on scrap paper to each other.

As odd as it was, they were the only ones currently inside.

"_Thanks a lot, Davis, for forcing me to date your sister tomorrow night,"_ he thought angrily as he eyed the goggle-bearing DigiDestined. _"The next time we see each other eye to eye, I'll put you out on a date with someone YOU don't want."_

If he was able to recall of once holding the Crest of Friendship around his neck and now within his heart, it was not now; frustration still clouded his judgment, so he currently lacked any capabilities of being sympathetic, let alone thinking with an ounce of common sense.

Huffing quietly, he went on his way again, where he subsequently encountered more and more gossiping from other classmates.

Despite hearing the whispers coherently, it felt so quiet that he could hear his heart beat faster and faster. And although he already dreaded gossip to where here could not describe it, after hearing the news spread across the school, he began hating it even more. And he could hear it wherever he went, whether it was inside the classroom, backstage, or around town.

"_Why do I have to be involved in this mess?"_

Simple answer: _he put himself in this position_!

"_Although I was blackmailed to dating her, it might've been best. After all, with Tai's and Izzy's help, I was able to help keep their secret of them having Digimon partners."_

His thoughts were followed by a soft groan.

_"But why couldn't she just stop being so obsessed with me?"_

Hey, crushes were not and never would be something to vanish instantly! Crushes always took at least a day to disappear. Of course, we people sometimes wished it were indeed possible to have those lose their interest towards them in the blink of an eye, yes, but it was _completely_ illogical.

"_I wonder how our date will be like this Friday night."_

June and Matt, on a Friday night date, together… A shudder flowed down his back.

"_It's not gonna be a very good next couple of days, that's for sure,"_ he thought as he turned his head to his right: A trio of blonde-haired girls snickered at his direction. _"I'm sure of it."_

* * *

"You got Matt to do _what_?" 

"That's right, Momoe," grinned a giddy June Motomiya as she sat adjacent to her fluffy brown-haired comrade. "Last night, I persuaded him to go on a date with me…" her grin turned temporarily evil, "…and he has no choice, either."

"No choice?" puzzled Momoe and bent down to retrieve her notebook that was buried deep in her backpack.

"It's a long story, Momoe, I'll tell ya that later," said the eighteen-and-a-half-year-old, her grin still on her face. "The point is I'm able to get Matt out on a date, and it'll be Friday night that I'll be able to go out with him!"

A loud, excited yell from her reverberated the empty classroom, causing an echo that made Momoe believe the room quickly quaked. Nonetheless, the near-nineteen-year-old brown-haired girl kept control of herself… and her desk.

"You sound as if you can't wait for tomorrow, June," she said, holding back a laugh.

"You bet I can't," replied June, regaining her composure, and she looked at the clock above the sliding door. "If I had the ability to travel trough time, I'd run the clock forward so he can't try to escape my grasp."

"You wish," chuckled Momoe, ignoring a glare from the passionate redhead. "Well, June, I will have to admit that I'm feeling a little envious right now."

"Envious, Momoe?" wondered June, flattening the beige collar of her uniform.

"Mm-hmm, because now I wonder when _I_ will go on a date."

June shook her head and smiled warmly. "Don't fret about not having a date. It'll happen. Just give it some time, and sooner or later, you'll be on a date."

"But you know me more than my other friends, June," retorted Momoe. "I'm not someone who's usually patient."

"Why don't I know?" The female Motomiya child rolled her eyes. "Just wait it out. You'll find your potential prince once you do."

"And from someone who's anxious in dating a famous teenage rock star," said Momoe monotonously, earning a playful punch on her left arm. "Hey, I was only kidding!"

"Riiight," teased June, and she and Momoe shared a laugh together.

"All right, June. I'll try to have the patience of a saint," promised Momoe once the laughter receded.

No more was said as they continued unpacking their bags and placing their notebooks either in the middle compartment or on the tabletop.

Meanwhile, June decided to think about things. Although denial seemed to be the best thought about answer she could mentally give right now, she knew what she said to Momoe was a little hypocritical. After all, she was about to go out on a formal date with the crush of her dreams. The fame, the spotlight – she could just sense it. It was not only sitting in the back of her mind, but outside the school, too. The entire spotlight was waiting for her and her date… and she could not wait.

* * *

Matt's day was not boring at all, and what he heard was embarrassing him greatly. 

The rumors continued all morning long. From the classroom, to the hallways, to the cafeteria, he could hear them. Girls huddled and either snickered or growled in jealousy; and boys either pointed and smiled at Matt's dejected face or moaned because he had to date some "hyperactive" Teenage Wolf fanatic. Whatever it was, these rumors made him wallow.

Then came _more_ trouble…

"How are things going today, Matt?" asked fifteen-year-old Tai Kamiya as he walked up to the blond, who sat at a table in the far corner of the cafeteria.

"Dreadful, Tai," sighed Matt as he put his fork down, and he mentioned the awkward stares he received all day long.

Tai soon sat down on his right. "It's that bad, huh?"

"Quite," groaned the DigiDestined of Friendship. "I don't know what I'm gonna do now, and I feel like I'm gonna shrill and run up the hills during my date with June this Friday night."

Tai blinked normally. "The thought of her really gives you such a headache, doesn't it?"

"Well, what do you expect?" Matt ate some of his rice that sat on the corner of his tray. "I've told you about how love-crazy she can be around me sometimes."

With his right hand, the DigiDestined of the Crest of Courage ate some of his steak that was in the center of his own tray. "Yeah, you have told me about June, so what is the problem?"

Matt sighed impatiently. "Her actions occasionally drive me really insane. _That's_ the problem."

"And now you're worried about your date because of this?"

"Exactly," said Matt and sipped some of his cola. "And the fact that I dragged myself into this mess makes it worse!"

Tai swigged in some water before looking back.

"Well, so what?"

"What?"

"Yes, so what?" said Tai in an unusually severe tone. "You're on a date with someone who's head over heals for you, and you're afraid of being embarrassed in public by her?" An annoyed scoff followed. "Big deal."

Matt was rendered speechless by Tai's dismissive, yet serious attitude. "Well, why are you not being so casual by all this?"

The DigiDestined of Courage nearly downed his sip down the wrong pipe after hearing that.

"Matt, sometimes you're gonna have to not let your own ego get into your head. You should not worry about your reputation like this. You should actually _be happy_ that you have a date with June, and you whine your head off about this?"

"And coming from a friend who has girls flock all over him and try to kiss him," muttered Matt sarcastically and ate some rice.

Tai heard the quip, but ignored it.

"Matt, you should not restrict yourself and let you reputation get into your head, something that has apparently been a big problem of yours. You're doing the same things over and over and over again; you like to stay in a comfort zone. For instance, your love for music. Yes, you branched from your harmonica to rock, but you're still in music."

As he drank more of his water, Matt's confusion really grew.

"Tai, what is it that you're trying to say," he asked, annoyed, and chomped some lettuce violently, "because your analogy is making no sense?"

"It may be a terrible example, Matt," said Tai, "but I mean what I say here."

"And that is…?"

"Get to know her more, and don't worry about your date with June tomorrow night. I think you're so worried about June's wild side that you perhaps haven't seen the whole her yet." He chuckled briefly. "Besides, you might actually have a great time tomorrow night. In addition, what would Gabumon think? Would he want you to become dejected like this?"

When Matt stayed silent (although feeling very cross again), he shook his head.

"I don't think so. In fact, I'd think he try to urge you to go on that date even if he had to use the Blue Blaster until all your blond hair turned into ashes and fell onto the floor."

Matt's glower deepened, and his eyebrows furrowed.

"Tai, Gabumon would rather run around in the cold naked than try to catch my butt on fire."

"Yes, I know that. I was only exaggerating just to make my point," said Tai, begrudgingly.

Matt sighed.

Tai had just babbled a whole lot of nonsense, he thought. First, he was trying to convince him the date would not be so bad, and then, he added the stinger by using his partner Gabumon as a _example_! Ooh, it took a lot of might to just keep his composure like that. A glower was one thing, but a yell was more dangerous. (Wait a second. A monotonous, but angry voice proved to be more hazardous.) Tai might have gotten away with it _this time_. Next time, however, no one, not even Tai, would get away from his anger. So bystanders had better watch out, because the Devil hath no fear like a blond rock star scorned.

Then calm came. It might have been impossible to actually say this, let a lone consider it for a second… but what if Tai, a fun-loving, soccer-attached "airhead," might have filled in the cracked pottery? What if Tai, a fun-loving, soccer-attached "airhead," was possibly _right_? That he was right about him thinking about his own reputation a little too much. That he was right about becoming more concerned about her than himself. What if this was true? What if everything made sense at last? Then again, this was the Tai today, one who was much wiser. He was thinking of the Tai from about four years ago, one who was cocky, confident, and thought less.

"Okay. I'll try to follow what you said," he promised, flashing a minute grin. "But next time, take some advice to whenever _you_ plan to date."

Tai laughed, and they resumed eating the rest of their meals.

_"__Maybe tomorrow won'__t be so bad, after all."_

* * *

The hours passed quickly, too quickly for June. One minute, she arrived at her high school and conversed with her closest friend, Momoe Inuoe, about her upcoming date with Matt Ishida. The next turn of the arrows was yet another conversation, this time in the school cafeteria. Again, it was the date with Matt, but it was not with Momoe this time. It was with other female friends of hers, ones whose names would not be revealed today. The third – and final – minute was the bell, signaling the end of the day for the scholars, unless they had to travel to the detention center for violating any school rules. 

June was not one of those violators, nor would she even try to. Committing any infractions would absolutely hinder the possibilities of her date with Matt, and she would not want that to happen, now would she?

After what seemed like forever, she reached her household and unlocked the door.

"I'm home!" she hollered once she stepped inside.

No reply.

"_Hi, June_!"

She put her backpack on the kitchen sink and entered the living room. There, she noticed the usual: Davis sitting on the couch playing his video game.

"How was school today?" the twelve-year-old DigiDestined of the DigiEgg of Courage asked, his eyes on the screen.

"Very fast, if you ask me," replied June and sat on a chair adjacent to the table. "You?"

"Uneventful, as usual," said Davis, then noticed something happen. "YES! I've defeated the last boss! WOOHOO!!"

June eyed the screen (which showed two hedgehogs – one blue, the other black – shaking hands) and shook her head slightly. "You have some sort of odd way to have fun here; I don't understand the fun playing video games at all."

Once the game had been saved, he went to the console and shut it off. "Computer games can be fun, especially action games, because they're a bit competitive at times," he told her and laid back down on the couch, his goggle's lenses reflecting the electric lights.

"Competitive?" wondered June.

"Well… I wouldn't quite say that, as there are action games that bore me greatly," replied the twelve-year-old slowly. "But most of the time, I play only to escape reality: Everything around me seems to leave, and I'm in this virtual world."

A sigh.

"It can be quite fun, as far as my perspective is. Besides…" he played with his hair with his right hand, "…I really hate thinking, even when I really have to."

"Like whenever you have schoolwork to attend to?"

"Kinda," he replied, ignoring the tease, and noticed June's smile while looking away. "Hey, what's with your grin?"

She looked back, her smile a stain on her face. "I forgot to tell you this, but I have something important to tell you."

"Well?"

June ignored his seemingly bored response.

"I have to say that tomorrow night, I'll be out on a date with Matt! _YAHOOO_!!"

Upon the loud whoop, Davis looked at the ceiling and swore that it shook, but decided to pay no attention to it for the time being.

"Matt?" he wondered, confused.

"Mm-hmm," nodded June joyously.

Davis was ready to question her about who this "Matt" character was, but his eyes soon looked like they were about to pop out.

"Wait a sec. You're gonna be dating Matt from the _Teenage Wolves_? TOMORROW?!"

"That's right, Davis," smiled June and glanced up at the ceiling. "I was able to lure him into agreeing with me to date him last night after he bumbled on something." She tapped her chin with her right index finger. "I don't remember what he was saying or going to say, but whatever." She shrugged her shoulders. "The point is that I'll be dating him tomorrow, and I can't wait!"

"I'm not surprised by your reaction," said Davis monotonously, which caught her attention. "I mean, you've been dying to go out on a date with him for at least two months now."

"Well, what'd ya think I was gonna do? Wait it out?" she huffed.

"Likely."

June was beginning to become annoyed at his putrid attitude. What was her troublesome brother trying to do with her, anyway? Play mind games? Attempt to make her snap? Drive he so insane that a visit to the psychiatrist was in order? Seriously, what was this kid with goggles on his head thinking right now?

"Well, Davis Motomiya, what you're saying ain't gonna work," she grumbled to him. "Tomorrow, I'll be having the time of my life, and you're not gonna interfere with it."

Well, that did it. No longer was he capable of holding it in. No longer was he capable of hiding his emotions. All he could do now was laugh loudly and hysterically.

"DA_VIS_?!!"

The goggle-bearing DigiDestined stopped laughing immediately and looked up at her. Her brows furrowed, her mouth frowned, her hands were on her waists, and she was literally standing over him.

"What is with all the anger?" he asked innocently, stifling a laugh.

"YOU WERE TRYING TO SPOIL MY FUN,_ THAT'S_ WHY!!!!"

Davis nearly collapsed onto the floor in shock.

"Spoil your fun?! June, didn't you even think for one second that I might be _congratulating_ you right now?!"

All anger and frustration disappeared like the ending of a magic act, replaced with bewilderment. "Wha…?"

"Exactly," replied Davis and sat up. "I'm actually glad that you're on your date. I was only egging ya because it's a lot of fun getting under your skin."

"The same way I like to get under _your_ skin sometimes," joked June and guided her right arm down to hoist him off the couch.

Their talk resumed at the living table shortly thereafter.

"So, you can't wait to go tomorrow, huh?"

"Exactly," said June. "All day I've been very eager to go out on a date with him."

Davis scoffed. "After hearing you mutter about Matt through your snoring, I'm not too surprised," he snickered.

She eyed him peculiarly, raised her left eyebrow, and tapped the ends of her fingers on the table. "How did you know I was doing that?"

"I heard you muttering something in your sleep recently, so I slunk to your door and listened," said Davis nonchalantly, shrugging his shoulders. "It turned out you were thinking about Matt and hoped you were going to date him one day."

"…So you heard me mutter in your sleep, didn't you?" said June in a bit of a cocky tone. She was not going to let her little brother, of all people, have the last hurrah. "Sort of like when I hear you mutter about Kari in your sleep occasionally, eh?"

All color disappeared from Davis's face after hearing that. "Tell me you didn't…!"

"Yep, I did," giggled June and regained her composure. "Seems like we both have someone we fantasize."

Davis laughed. "Yeah, we do." He wrapped his arms behind his head and eyed the ceiling with a daydreaming expression. "Except you will be able to date him, and Kari lacks interest with dating."

"Even the blond kid with that hat?"

"Even him."

For some reason, June looked a little surprised.

"After what you told me about him, you thought he was trying to woo Kari away from you."

"Yeah, sometimes my brain tells me that whenever I'm not acting rationally," said Davis thoughtfully. "Although I occasionally behave like that, T.K. really is a very good person, and we've been able to get along quite a bit lately."

"Good to see your friendship with him is working out well," said June positively.

"I agree, and at first, I didn't think it'd work out at all," chuckled Davis and at last looked down at his sister and let his arms touch the table. "So where are you and Matt going to be going on your date?"

"Moreali's," answered June simply.

"Moreali's?"

"It's the most expensive restaurant in Odaiba."

Like a dangling yo-yo, Davis's jaw dropped to the floor.

"You're kidding!"

June shook her head, her read hair twirling like a plant underwater.

"No, I'm not. We're going to be having our date there tomorrow night."

"But why a place so expensive? Couldn't you two travel to a restaurant that _doesn't_ make any of you dig deep into your pockets?"

June exhaled.

"I really want tomorrow to be a special occasion; I want it to be the night of not only my life, but his, too. That's why I chose that restaurant for both of us to go to."

Davis smiled compassionately. "That's a nice thing to consider."

"Why, thank you."

A blush tinted her cheeks after hearing the praise, and Davis chuckled quietly. Sometimes, having conversations with each other was not so bad, after all.

"So, June…" his eyes scanned the uniform she currently wore, "…do you have a dress to choose from? Although I don't know too much about expensive restaurants, I have a hunch that this restaurant requires you to wear something formal."

"It does require people to dress formally," nodded June, "and I do have a dress for an event such as this."

"Can I see it?" he asked, interested.

"Sure."

She pulled herself up from her chair, walked to her room, and returned with a clear protective covering with a dark violet dress that was nearly her height.

"Like it?"

Davis whistled long and loud.

"REALLY nice. I bet I'll like it more once you wear it tomorrow, though. Just don't act all fanatical, and you'll do fine."

June blushed once again, although she did not recognize it right away. "Thanks for the compliments, Davis, and I promise to keep my composure."

"You better," warned Davis with a grin, "or I'll make you go to a private tutor where you'll be taught some etiquette, even if I have to _DRAG_ you there!"

"Don't worry, I will," laughed June, and Davis chuckled along with her.

"So…" said Davis slowly once the laughter died down, "…what to we do now?"

June walked to the couch and laid it on its right arm, then turned back to him.

"How about do a little homework before our parents return from work?"

Davis mentally groaned. Boy, did he hate homework with such a gigantic passion. It was so boring and so painstaking to dig into his brain in order to write or read anything that was a school assignment. He swore that one day, once he was elected Prime Minister in the next few decades, he would sign a bill to ban homework. To add it, he would possibly close down every school throughout the country. Unfortunately, while he would love it to happen, he knew this was impossible to ban homework and completely shut down all the. All those mother, fathers, and teachers would rally to the streets and loudly demand the Japanese government to reopen them and get the children all educated so they would have nice, smart, happy lives.

"All right, let's start our homework," he said, feeling a little bit dejected, and June went to both her room and his. He had to admit it, however: next to helping his fellow friends secure the Digital World from the almighty Digimon Emperor, completing a share of his homework was perhaps the best task to take care of now.

"Davis..." said June as she walked back out of his room, books and pencils in hand, "...I forgot to say this, but thanks for our talk tonight."

He eyed her peculiarly. "Pardon?"

June sat down and placed the school equipment down in the middle of the table. "I'm very happy that we were able to have a conversation that wasn't mostly filled with insulting jabs, and I like to thank you for helping with that."

Now it was_ his_ turn to blush.

"Nah," he said dismissively, shooing it off with a wave of his right hand, "it was nothing."

June chuckled. "Some things just don't change between us, do they?"

"Maybe not," laughed Davis, "but I must admit, I'm glad we talked tonight, too."

June smiled small. "We should do this more in the future."

"I like that idea," agreed Davis and looked down, "but next time, with_out_ the option of doing our homework."

Following a minute-long laugh, nothing more was said as they began studying their homework.

* * *

As quick as it was, tomorrow night arrived, and was it going to be extremely pleasant, too. The sky was as clear as daylight. Stars of various colors – red, blue, yellow, and white – shone brightly, their auras exposing the dark sky's midnight blue shade. On the ground, signs from the busy shopping centers – Shinjuku, for example – flickered brightly, polluting the troposphere with a transparent orange glow. 

The restaurants throughout the twenty-four special wards were crowded with people. Groups of two, three, all the way up to seven gathered all over the country just to have a nice, peaceful meal together. It was not just adults that went to the restaurants or a party of all ages; teenagers ranging from the tender age of fourteen to adults as young as twenty-five came along, as well. Yes, my comrades, tonight was definitely going to be something special.

"Are you ready, June?" called Davis from outside her room.

"In a minute, Davis!" June answered back.

A low groan escaped his system, and he looked at his watch, which read "7:20."

"_If we don't leave soon, we'll be late for her date with Matt, and it'll be one step closer to etiquette school for her."_

Literally, but this was merely the tip of the iceberg regarding the consequences for being tardy on her first date.

He did not have to think about it for long; moments later, the door unlatched, and he walked away to give her some leverage.

June slowly walked out of her room and presented herself before him. The dark violet dress fit her slim body gorgeously; and it hung nearly down towards her ankles. The straps hung on her shoulders; and what seemed to be a flashback to several centuries ago in the Western Hemisphere, transparent white gloves covered her fingers, hands, and forearms.

But there was indeed something from her that no one ever saw from her before.

Tonight, gone was the hair that stuck up high in the air like smoke and waved erratically like fireworks shooting from the ground. Instead, a new hairdo temporarily replaced it. Again, it was red, her natural hair color, but instead of it pointing wildly above her head, it dangled behind her, flowing halfway down her back.

A long whistle from the stunned Davis echoed the apartment the minute he noticed her drastic outlook.

"Looks like I was right: I _definitely_ like it a lot more," he uttered at last.

June looked down with a blush. "Thanks."

"Well, why not? You _are_ my sister, after all. And, yes, it's a compliment," he added, in fear of a retort.

There was going to be none, however. She just wanted to receive as much comments as possible. Hopefully, she was not going to let it cloud her judgment tonight.

"Ready to go?" asked Davis.

June smiled. "Like you, I was born ready!"

They laughed collectively, and they packed up and left the complex.

* * *

"Thanks for aiding me for tonight, Dad." 

There they were, on the road trying to get to Moreali's on time. The car he and his father were in was a black, mid-size, four-door sedan. Due to age, his father Hiroaki was driving it, and he was wearing white business shirt and khakis. Meanwhile, Matt sat beside him, and he wore a tie-free black blazer with pants and shoes containing the same color.

"It's no problem, son," said Hiroaki with a minute smile. "I'm glad that my boss allowed me to help you arrive on time."

"Uh, but aren't you the boss of the T.V. station?" said Matt slowly as he scratched his left cheek with his index finger.

Hiroaki half-nodded and blinked. "I am the director and boss of the cameramen, but I have a higher boss, too, so I had to contact him earlier today to see if I could get off early."

If Matt was right, he could have heard his father grumble softly, which made him suspicious.

"And… how were you able to convince your boss to let you out early?"

"Honestly, Matt, I don't want to know," replied Hiroaki and chuckled lowly, "although I will admit, him eating a little too much wasabi almost made me lose my composure."

Matt left it at that, but he had to agree that the "wasabi" part was indeed a little bit funny.

* * *

Moreali's was one of the more popular restaurants in Odaiba. 

It was located at the area where it was known to be very busy (a word that was a huge understatement): Cars bustled down the streets, crowding just about as much space as possible. Whenever the pedestrians had the capabilities to cross, the horde would bustle down the crosswalks.

As for Moreali's itself, it stretched across half a block nearby the busy intersection. The restaurant was three stories high with windows on the left-hand side. The windows were one-sided; you could see outside, but not out. Above the main entrance had the words "Moreali's" in both Japanese kanji and – believe it or not – four other languages: English, Korean, _Russian_, and _Italian_! Apparently, its international variety seemed to make the restaurant popular, too; although it could not be detected from outside the entrance, through the glass, you could detect groups of people sitting on their knees in about every table available.

June and Davis were the first people to arrive, and they patiently waited beside the entrance, although they soon became a little worried.

"It's almost eight," said Davis impatiently while staring at his watch. "If he doesn't come soon, he'll be late for your date."

June watched the street. So far, no teenage blond celebrity or black car was seen, and she showed some impatience by fumbling with the tips of her fingers.

"C'mon, Matt," she murmured edgily. "Where are you?"

Davis felt sorry for his sister and patted his sister's right shoulder for comfort. "He'll be here soon. I'm sure he will."

"_Although I feel very concerned myself."_

"Long time, no see, Ms. Motomiya."

Both of them looked back, and up the street came Matt and Hiroaki. The car was nowhere in sight.

"It's a pleasure to see you again, Mr. Ishida," said June, directing to Hiroaki, and bowed.

"Ditto," said Davis, following it up with a bow of his own. Then, he saw Matt's slightly annoyed expression on his face. "Hey, don't blame _me_ for putting you here."

Matt sighed inwardly after hearing that. It looked like logic and common sense finally returned into his brain after a couple of days' absence.

_"Maybe he's right. I shouldn't blame him for this."_

But if he was going to apologize, it was later. Right now, his date had to be greeted.

"It's nice to see you, June," said Matt with some nervousness.

June said "hi" back, ignoring the shaky composure.

Davis and Hiroaki glanced at each other for a split second, their expressions indicating some concern, something Matt and June apparently did not detect.

"So, are we ready to go inside now?" asked Matt.

"You bet," smiled June.

With that, the couple said their "goodbyes," went through the door, and into the restaurant.

When they disappeared behind the doors, Davis and Hiroaki looked at each other again.

"With Matt expressing some discomfort, I wonder what will happen next," said Davis and tapped his chin with his right hand.

"I wonder, too, Mr. Motomiya," agreed Hiroaki and looked at the doors again.

The window showed the silhouettes of Matt and June preparing to follow a waiter of his early fifties.

"But I think it'll work out okay."

Davis cracked a small smile. "I think you're right." He eyed the window briefly before turning back to Hiroaki, who glanced back with a grin of his own. "We'll just have to see what happens when the night is through."

Nothing more was said between them, except saying "goodbye" for the night.

* * *

Inside Moreali's, nothing could be done except be in awe of its beauty. The _tonkatsu_ restaurant contained many red, green, gold, and blue crystals. On the red walls, the golden crystals glistened in the above light. Small houseplants rested on the windowsills, seemingly dancing in the colorful light. Each table was low-risen, their legs similar to tree stumps. Before each table was a pillow for their legs (after all, who would not want to have their legs either fall asleep or be strained while kneeling on a floor that was as hard as a rock, hmm?). Covering the light bulbs were shades covered with transparent blue crystals, its shapes reflecting the light and bouncing erratically onto various spots on either the wall or floor. 

This was only the first floor, though, one where they were not going to have dinner. They traveled up the stairs, which were located in the back, and they arrived at the second floor. Everything was the same, except the ceiling's crystals were red and the walls were painted green. Again, being not the landing they were dining, they walked up to the final flight, where the walls were blue and the ceiling's crystals were green.

While walking down, Matt glanced at the crystals and noticed how much the light bounced off them. Wherever he looked, there was a different direction of the luminosity, and it merely made everything more spectacular. Apparently, June really did the right thing choosing this restaurant as the place to be on a date, after all. But all he hoped now was that everything went smoothly.

Once they arrived at an empty window-side table in the middle of the room, the waiter asked politely, "Is there anything I could give you two right now?"

"A menu for me, please," replied June and looked at Matt with a smile.

"Uh, a glass of water and a menu for me," said Matt, trying to sound polite himself.

"Of course."

Following bowing, he disappeared into the back, and June and Matt slowly knelt down onto their pillows.

Matt looked to the right and noticed all the couples sitting around them. They were either eating their foods or striking conversations, and albeit them not paying attention to everything else, Matt could not help but felt a little uneasy.

_"If being with June isn'__t gonna make me nervous, this surely would."_

"So, June…" he began aloud, "…how has things gone since Dad told me we were going on a date tonight?" 

"Very good, actually," answered June. "I was very excited, as usual."

"Tell me about it," muttered Matt.

June ignored it.

"I told Davis, Mom, and Dad, and they all congratulated me for it, even though Davis got into some of his old bag of tricks again."

Matt raised an eyebrow. "What kind of tricks?"

"Well, pretending to be a bit sarcastic and not taking my announcement too seriously." Her voice hinted annoyance at the end. "But we had a nice talk, and he advised me not to be all fanatical." She leaned on her elbows and placed her hands on her chin. A smile subsequently broke out, and her eyes seemed to twinkle with tiny stars. "Although it isn't very easy."

"_I could tell,"_ he thought mischievously.

Again, nervousness kicked in for him. June's calm persona was beginning to be replaced with fanaticism again! From what she just told him, he could tell that Davis was not going to like it if everything went haywire.

"Don't worry, Matt, I'll try not to," she promised, but it all might have teetered towards irrelevance, and it was all according to the eyes.

"_I doubt that, and it'll end up being the worst night of my life,"_ thought Matt and grumbled. _"But I'll try to do what Tai said to me and give her a chance, but only one."_

His behavior calmed down again, nervousness temporarily aside.

"I'll give you the chance, but please not to act all starry." With a whisper, he added to her, "Fanatical behavior from others tends to really embarrass me."

Uh-oh, June thought. She had better regain her composure immediately, and she shook her head to remove those thoughts from her head. "S-Sorry, Matt." She bowed down out of shame. "I can really lose my head in situations like this."

"It's okay, June," said Matt casually, restraining a snicker. Sometimes, it was fun seeing her fluster like that, as long as it was not hurtful or offensive to both her and the public.

All talking ended once the waiter arrived, his menus in one hand and a glass of water in the other.

"Here are your menus, Ms. Motomiya and Mr. Ishida," he said and carefully handed them to his customers. "And here's your water, Mr. Ishida." He carefully placed the water in front of him.

"Thank you, sir," said Matt politely, and with a bow, the waiter returned downstairs.

"I'm curious as to see what foods they have," whispered Matt and went to grab his menu.

"I'm curious myself," agreed June and picked up hers. "With the translations both on here and in front, I'm assuming that there are a lot of cuisines besides our own."

"I think so, too," said Matt and opened up his menu.

It turned out she was right: appetizers, main courses, and desserts were international, particularly Korean, Russian, American, and Italian. There were also a couple of dishes from other countries, such as France and Mexico, but they were not as dominant as the other cuisines.

"Whoa…!"

Matt looked up after hearing her whisper out of surprise. "What is it?"

"Look at the prices and the slogan on the front," she hissed, her eyes wide.

Matt did so and gaped at the prices. _"Thank heavens I have my credit card with me."_

Then, he looked at the front of the menu, and on the front had the phrase in Japanese kanji: "Nothing except freshness."

"_So _that_ must be why it's so expensive here,"_ he thought and began thoroughly examining his menu. Albeit the prices being so high, they all looked tasty, particularly one Italian dish at the top of a page.

June had her eye on a meal herself. An interesting Korean cuisine from the bottom of one of the pages caught her attention, and her eyes flashed on it.

_"THAT'S what I'll have,"_ she thought cravingly.

Matt peaked above his menu and noticed her hungry expression. He did all he could to prevent himself from laughing hard.

Soon, footsteps were heard, and they both looked up.

The waiter had returned.

"Are you ready to take your orders?" he asked.

Both nodded.

"I like to have the Kimbap, please," she told him.

The waited jotted it down quickly. "Any drink I can give you?"

Brown eyes indicated reconsideration.

At last, she made her final answer.

"Ginger ale will be fine, please."

The waiter wrote it on his slip and turned to Matt.

"I'll have the minestrone soup, please."

Some quick scribbling was heard. "Any drink I can give you?"

Matt eyed his water, which was barely touched, and looked back at him. "A cola will be okay."

After another jotting on the slip, he retrieved both menus.

"Dinner will be ready for both of you shortly."

With a bow, he left the table again.

"So, you're having minestrone soup, Matt?" said June and fought the urge to lick her lips. "That must be very good."

"I've had that Italian soup once before," explained Matt. "When I occasionally visited my mother, she would usually cook some for me."

"You did?!" June had the urge to cry out, but exclaimed in a whisper instead. "But your brother told me that she grilled steaks for you."

"She does." He clasped his hands and gently placed them on he cloth-covered table. "And the minestrone's usually a treat. To be honest, though, she actually admitted to preferring to cook Italian food more than anything."

June raised an eyebrow with a bewildered hum. "She doesn't even like _Oriental_ cooking?" she hissed.

Matt shook his head.

"No, it's not that," he whispered back. "It's just more of a preference for her, and it seems to be running in the family."

June chuckled. "Apparently."

Matt was becoming annoyed quite quickly. There was something bothersome about that giggle. "What's so funny?"

June waved her left hand. "It's not what you're thinking, Matt," she explained. "I'm just remembering what happened two nights ago when I talked you into dating." A tiny laugh escaped her mouth. "Seeing your face before closing the door nearly made me collapse on the floor in laughter."

"Oh. That."

Following his plain response, he glanced at the crowd (even though no one took no notice), and nervousness and embarrassment within him were kicking in now.

June enjoyed it.

_"Him being embarrassed makes him one big ball of cuteness,"_ she thought deviously and quietly cackled. _"Then again, he's always cute."_

Matt detected her thoughts and suddenly turned pink in the cheeks and began sweating on the neck.

_"You claim to be disciplined__, June, but you've done it now,__"_ he thought grumpily, and he looked down on the table and slightly tugged on the sweaty shirt collar. _"__Yep, she's partially succeeded in both embarrassing me and ruining my clothes. And now, she's getting close to ruining _our date_!"_ He exhaled frustratingly. _"__Well, if she's gonna ruin our date, then—__"_

_**Bop****…!**_

Then everything suddenly stopped. All his thoughts were zapped away from him as though a vacuum was placed on his head and cleaned up dirt and dust. It all ended so quickly, he was not prepared for it. It just happened one second within a split second. But was he not ready for was the slight headache, caused by something, something containing four round, strong, swift bumps. All he could do now was look up, slightly rub his forehead, and turn confused from the sudden change in events.

"Matt Ishida," whispered June angrily as she rubbed her right knuckles fiercely, "I think it's finally time for you to take that jell-o you have as a back and _STIFFEN IT_!"

"Huh?" The headache went away, and replacing it was confusion. "What are you talking about?"

June sighed exasperatedly.

_"__He might be the leader of the Teenage Wolves, but sometimes, I wonder if he thinks more than he usually does."_

"What I'm saying is that you should buck up a little and try not to shy away so easily," she said with a little more patience than what she exhibited moments ago. "You're letting tiny little things get into your head, and your judgment is influenced by it."

"_And after she apologized for her, what I should believe is, immaturity,"_ thought Matt irritably. She knew how to push someone's buttons very well, he thought.

June noticed it. "Don't be fooled with what you think, Matt; I can usually tell your thoughts with the snap of the fingers."

"_Usually_, you said," interrupted Matt, trying not to laugh. "Not all the time."

June scoffed and made a snap-like gesture with her right hand. "Yeah, I know. Sometimes, I like to dig through people's mind and see what they're thinking. But other times…" A feint blush tinted her cheeks, "…I may be glad that I didn't."

Matt collapsed his arms, letting them dangle to where his fingertips nearly touched his pillow. "So, back to the subject before, I believe what you were planning to say was that I have to grow more of a spine, right?"

June lightly tapped the table with her glove-covered hands. "To be frank, yes."

"_Exactly what I thought." _The DigiDestined of Friendship sighed. Sometimes, future psychologists were such a gigantic pain in his neck. Why would they ever leave his brain alone so he could think in privacy—?

Hey, wait a second. That was a different subject… sort of. Still, he had to think about what she had just said.

What she said…

What she said… Now that he thought of it, there was something strikingly familiar with her words. There was some parallelism, but to what?

Hold on, back up for a second. Were these same words parallel with what his friend and DigiDestined partner, Tai, told him yesterday during lunch? Did they connect in a way to which they carried the exact same message?

To make sure, Matt had to travel into his memory bank and see if what he said matched hers.

Well, that day, Matt thought, after revealing just about as much detail as he wanted to – or _had_ to – reveal, Tai had told him that he needed to not let his ego get into his head. Tai had told him not to freak out and allow himself to give both June and the date a chance. Not only that, the DigiDestined of the Crest of Courage told him to not to worry about June embarrassing him, nor should he worry about his reputation.

Hmm… this was interesting.

And, now, June was telling him to grow some spine, to not get easily distracted or embarrassed.

Now that he recollected his lectures, he had to admit it… what both of them said seemed to be connected. Albeit their wording, what they said apparently made one combined lesson, one combined moral, to both speeches.

"_Learn to toughen up, not to be afraid of change, and give her a chance."_

Bingo!

"Yeah, I need to toughen up, don't I?" he laughed.

"Not much," said June and made a seesaw motion with her left hand, "but, yes, you need to toughen your skin a little."

Matt laughed and went on. "There's something else I want to do, which I haven't really done a lot."

"What's that?" asked June.

Matt inhaled and exhaled. This was never easy, but it had to be done. "I wanna apologize."

"Apologize?" She definitely did not expecting him to do that. "What for?"

"For not giving you a chance prior," he answered. "And before you continue on, yes, I planned to give you a chance and said so to you earlier tonight, but I still had a ton of doubts. You might've been able to recognize that with how annoyed I was when I was thinking."

"Um…" June became semi-speechless; and her ability to think temporarily lessened. "No, I didn't detect it," she said while shaking her head, the tips of her beautiful hair waving back and forth. A shy giggle followed while looking down. "Looks like I'm still a bit of a rookie when trying to be a psychologist, aren't I?"

"Hey, you're still improving, aren't you?" said Matt politely. "And as the saying goes, 'Practice makes perfect.' So continue improving, and you'll do well." A smile broke on his lips. "I guarantee it."

"Like with your music?" paralleled June.

Matt nodded with a hum.

"All right," June finalized, beaming with confidence. "I'll try it—" she grinned slyly, "—as long as you promise to give me a chance rather than run away screaming like a maniac."

Matt laughed. "I promise," he told her, and their conversation ended.

And it concluded just in time, too.

"I hope you two are doing well," said the waiter once he arrived at their table. In one hand was a plate of soup with tomato sauce, and in the other hand was a plate with something similar to a sushi roll and a bowl of rice on the side.

Both Matt and June nodded in reply.

"We're doing great," added Matt.

"I'm glad to hear it," smiled the waiter and lowered his left hand towards Matt's side. "Here is your minestrone soup, Mr. Ishida." He carefully let the plate filled with tomato sauce on the table in front of the DigiDestined. "And here's your Kimbap, Ms. Motomiya." He extended his other hand and laid the plate of the sushi-like rolls with a bowl of sticky rice in front of her.

"The drinks will arrive very shortly," he concluded and exited with a bow, leaving the duo all alone… _again_.

"Both meals smell good!" sniffed June excitedly (but in a whisper) and carefully picked up her chopsticks.

"I have to agree," said Matt and picked up his spoon with his right hand.

"It's time to eat now!" they announced together and began diving into their meals.

With extra care, June picked up the bowl of rice with her left hand and the chopsticks with the other. Then, after tapping the chopsticks lightly, she slowly reached them down, picked up a Kimbap roll, and put it in her mouth.

The roll brought a fascination sensation in her mouth. Immediately, her tongue tasted everything, from the rice, to the salt, to the _nori_ that securely wrapped it. Some other ingredients such as carrot and celery could be tasted, although hinted. And there was something similar to fish, too.

After some final chewing, she swallowed the Kimbap, and her face beamed with a satisfactory grin.

"_Mmm…"_ she thought with a satisfactory grin. _"This is GOOD."_ While she desired for more, she quickly remembered one golden rule about Japanese eating: alternate meals and not eat one meal first. So she went and ate some rice instead.

Matt only had one meal to deal with, so he did not need the obligation to alternate between dishes. As usual, the minestrone soup tasted what he predicted it to be: tomato-y with a hint of garlic. Then again, the soup did contain tomato sauce. And the pasta was good, too. The noodles felt and tasted a little – in this foreign phrase – _al dente_. Honestly, _al dente_ pasta was not usually his cup of his tea, but he loved it nevertheless.

Every once in a while, one would look at the other or they would eye the other. Usually, it would contain either whispering or glancing at how their date ate their respective foods. Occasionally, though, they would realize that someone was staring at him or her, but they never minded, for it was for fun and not out of menace. No words could quite describe this, other than it was like a surveillance camera eyeing every move. Other times, they would feel the other person's faint breath. There it would be – warm, yet comfortable carbon dioxide wafted and hit the counterpart softly in the face like a feather falling onto a fluffy pillow. Or they wound up looking at each other with smiles on their faces and reflected twinkles on their eyes. There that was – eyes as shiny as glass orbs looked directly at each other like two magnets connecting into one. It would last for a few moments, then they would continue eating, their cheeks tingling. What the sensation was, neither was sure. Perhaps, it was a bit of shyness. Perhaps, it was because the food was going to get too cold. Perhaps, it was… something else…?

And all the while, the waiter quietly placed their drinks down on the table and slunk away to let them eat in peace.

* * *

Matt placed his half-empty glass of cola down on the table. "That was really good," he sighed contently. 

June drank some of her ginger ale before closing her eyes out of satisfaction. "I agree with you a lot," she agreed and reopened her eyes. "So, what did you like about your minestrone soup?"

Matt gave a momentary thought.

"I think I liked the sauce the most. It had the garlic flavor, something I've always liked with minestrone soup since I was very small. To be honest, the pasta was a little bit tough, but it was still good. You?"

"I think I like the fish part of the Kinbap the most," she answered after pondering for a few seconds. "I've always like fish; it's my most-favorite food, and the salt in it satisfied me." She looked up at the ceiling, where the green crystals danced in the light. "Moreali's is one great place, despite the expense."

Matt looked up, too. "I have to agree with you there. Moreali's is one fabulous restaurant, especially if you want to go on a special occasion."

June looked down, and Matt followed. "Like a date?" she asked.

"Exactly," he replied then paused briefly. "I'd like to come back here one day, don't ya think?"

A nod from June served as her reply, and she touched her cheeks with her left hand. "Until you mentioned liking to come back, I never thought of returning," she admitted. "But now, I agree. I'd like to return here, too."

Then, the phrase "drop it while it was hot" kicked in, as her cheeks suddenly became warm, and she dangled her arm close to the floor.

"Are you okay, June?" gasped Matt.

June waved a hand. "I'm fine, Matt," she told him, the blush staining her face like grape juice on a carpet. "For some reason, I'm blushing."

"Blushing?" His right eyebrow perked up. "This is different. From what I've heard, you don't blush much, and this is the second time tonight you've done that. Any guesses as to why?"

June drank a little more ginger ale. "I'm not sure, to be honest," she replied, and her blush slowly vanished. "You have a theory, Matt?"

Matt shrugged. "I'm not so sure…"

All changed immediately as _his_ cheeks burned.

The tables had turned.

"Now it's me who's blushing."

"Hmm, this is getting suspicious," pondered June and tapped her chin with her right index finger. "First me, and now you. I wonder what going on."

"I think I know why."

Both snapped their heads and looked at the crimson-dressed waiter, who smiled wisely.

"You know the problem?" asked Matt, whose cheeks returned to its normal flesh color.

The waiter nodded. "But first, I like to ask how did you enjoy your meal?"

"It was great!" beamed June. "Your restaurant has some very fabulous food."

The waiter bowed. "I'm more than certain the chefs will gladly accept your compliment graciously," he said and went back to the subject prior. "While I was watching you eat, I noticed something strange with your attitudes. When you looked at each other, I noticed some vibe between you two. Is that correct?"

The teenagers looked at each other, nodded, and returned their attention to at the wise waiter.

"Yeah, we did, sir," said Matt.

For some reason, the waiter remained smiling.

"Well, I think I know what's going on with you two."

"So you know the problem?" said June. "Can you tell us what's going on?"

The waiter chuckled and put his hands behind his back, his famous grin still on his face.

"No, Ms. Motomiya, I'm not going to be the one who is going to tell you."

"You're not?" wondered Matt.

"No, lad, I'm not," said the intelligent waiter with a graceful shake of his head. "Instead, I'll let your hearts tell you, and the first floor can aid you, if you're both okay with it."

This man talked in riddles, they thought. From Matt's point of view, he was like another wise man he knew nearly four years ago, but one who was much shorter than him. June wondered about this man, too, particularly his wisdom. Although he sounded intelligent, the phrases bewildered her greatly. Who _was_ this man, and what did he want?

However, they played blind. Curiosity had conquered their minds, and it was eating their souls fast. So, complacently complying with themselves, they did what he said and followed him downstairs.

On the first floor, it was much different than before. The light was dimmer – much, _much_ dimmer than when they first arrived at Moreali's earlier tonight, where the electric luminosity was almost non-existent. The crystals on the blue ceiling and the gold walls obliged extremely well in the faint luminosity, as faint rays ricocheted off the red walls, marble floor, and dancing humans.

Wait a minute. Dancing humans? Why, yes, my friends. People were dancing in melodious music, and couples of all ages tapped back and forth, letting the harmony of the music mesmerize their minds, bodies, and souls. To help the scenery out, all the tables minus the ones at the corners were removed; and a disco ball hung in the middle of the room, spinning round and round counterclockwise.

Matt and June eyed the sight interestedly, especially Matt.

"Tonight is dance night, and it has been this way for the past half-hour now," said the smiling waiter and peaked at his watch, which read "9:30." "So you both are in for a very special treat."

Matt now started to realize what he was talking about earlier. What the waiter said started to make sense.

"June, I think I know what he's thinking," he told her.

She turned to her left. "You know it, Matt?"

"Mm-hmm," replied Matt with a hum, a small smile forming on his lips. "And to respond to it, I have one thing to ask you."

"What is it?" June's voice showed a lot of confusion. What was he and the waiter thinking?

She found out in two ways: one was an extending of Matt's right arm, and the other was him saying the words, "Is it okay if we can dance together?"

June was literally taken back by this. Even with her possibly knowing that being with him was nearly second to none, never in a million years did she believe that Matt would ask her if they would dance; and it was not through force, either. No, he asked her was on his own will. No grumble. No silence. Nothing. The question asked contained a _positive attitude_!

This was a special offer given to her, and she knew it. A decision had to made _now_, because if she delayed it just a little more, she may never get such an opportunity again.

So, what was her answer?

"Yes, Matt," she said speechlessly and gently held onto him with her left hand, "I would love to dance with you."

It was official, ladies and gentlemen.

They were ready to dance.

In quiet footsteps, they glided to the dance floor, passing many other happy couples, and they gently rocked back and forth above the disco ball. Simple footsteps, they were— Up, down, and side-to-side were the ingredients to create the dance they and others made. The music helped, too, as their minds became entranced by the slow melody.

June could not feel herself moving, though. When they began dancing, for some reason, her legs started moving without her mind telling her to, and there was no way for her nerves to feel them gently impacting the floor. It was like some outside force was controlling her lower-body, and she was willingly following its order.

_"And, yet, it feels so wonderful._ _Being with Matt was indeed the best time of my life."_

Her mind clicked.

_"I think I now know what the waiter was telling us, and you know what?"_

She paused and looked at Matt Ishida, who was dancing along with her.

_"I think he was right… I think I love him."_

Like detecting her thoughts, Matt certainly agreed with her. It was, as a matter of fact, a fantastic night tonight. Never would he forget it as long as he lived.

_"I was really wrong when I thought tonight was going to be the worst night of my life. I was seriously wrong, not just about being embarrassed… but the thought that June was going to ruin our date together. Where in fact, she wasn't the girl who would hold onto me and squeal in delight. She was calm, compassionate, polite,"_ he chuckled internally, _"and a bit of a mentor."_

He looked up at the disco ball.

_"What she – and Tai, of course – were right, after all. Giving her a chance was the right thing to do. In fact, maybe a little more than the correct choice. I… I think I might not only want to date her again, but if I__'m thinking correctly__… I think I love her, too."_

He finally looked down and at June, where she showed her love for him in a semi-accidental fashion. Her head was on his chest, and her eyes were closed. She might not be completely asleep, however, as she was continuously mumbling something under her breath.

Matt did not need to hear it; he already knew what she was saying, and he responded by leaning forward and kissing the top of her head.

"Happy dreams, little sunset," he told her, and they continued dancing through the harmonious, romantic night.

All the while, the wise waiter sipped some wine from a fancy glass in the background, his smile proud.

"I am glad they figured it all out," he said to himself. "They are nice people who definitely deserve to love one another."

"Indeed, they are."

The waiter turned around and noticed a gorgeous woman that was about her age and height. Her hair was black, and her dress was crimson.

"And is it okay if we can dance, too?" she asked politely, her voice elegant and fluent.

The waiter's smile never vanished, and he put the wine glass on a background table. "I would be honored," he replied graciously.

They held hands and went to the middle of the room, where they danced, as well.

This was a night that was going to last a lifetime.

* * *

"So, everything went well last night?" asked Tai as he lay on the right side of the living room couch, holding his cellular telephone next to his right ear and tapping the top of the backrest with the other. 

_"It went perfectly,"_ replied Matt from the other line, his voice indicating joy. _"We had a very great night at Moreali's. In fact, we had such a fantastic night that we agreed to go on another date next week__."_

Tai's eyes flashed in delight. "Congratulations!"

_"Thanks,"_ said Matt, and Tai was certain he heard him chuckle faintly. _"And I like to thank you for telling me that last night was__n'__t gonna be that bad. It turned out you were right with what happened last night, and I was wrong. Once I got to know June more, it turned out she was indeed a very nice girl to be around, after all."  
_  
The older DigiDestined of Courage thought of saying "I told you so," but forwent it. "So, where will your next date be?" he asked curiously.

He was not so sure, but he had a hint that the reason why Matt paused was due to surprise.

_"We haven't actually picked the destination,"_ admitted the DigiDestined of the Crest of Friendship, _"but we did agree that the next restaurant we visit won't be as expensive as Moreali's."_

With a quiet grunt, Tai got up from the couch and began walking towards the kitchen. "Well, I hope both of you have a fantastic night next week," he told him encouragingly.

_"Trust me, Tai, we will,"_ said Matt. _"_Sayonara._"_

"_Sayonara,_ Matt," finished Tai and hung up the phone.

He entered the kitchen and looked at a file cabinet located at the corner of the wall closest to the doorway. There were many pamphlets, and he picked up two of them with his left hand.

_"I don__'__t know what Matt will think once he finds out about me playing matchmaker,"_ he mused with a laugh; one of them contained a logo of some inexpensive restaurant, and the other… was Moreali's. _"But if I didn't get involved, why wouldn't June be able to know about Moreali's in the first place?__"_

Well, this was funny, he thought giddily. June and Matt were now a couple, and Tai himself was in the middle of it!

_"__And, now, I wonder what everyone who thought their date would go down the drain will think… But I can guarantee this; they__'ll look and feel really stupid once the news spreads, and I__'ll be there to enjoy every second of it.__"_

A sinister smile spread from ear to ear. The thought could not be any more delightful to him; and the anger, shock, and embarrassment from the so-called "critics" would make such subsequent events so much fun.  
_  
"But, first, I must place a call…"_

With that, he dialed a number and placed his telephone next to his right ear once more.


End file.
